A century of success for Hoffmann

The Hoffmann catalogue was first established in 1936. Today it features some 80,000 products and is printed in 18 languages. It is also available in the form of an online e-shop

Hoffmann Group celebrated the centenary of its founding in March, and marked the milestone with a donation of €100,000 to its Hoffmann Group Foundation.

The Hoffmann Group Foundation was established to support organisations that help socially disadvantaged and traumatised children and young people, through the funding of creative workshops – in line with its mantra ‘Tools create values’.

Hoffmann has embraced its centenary year in style. In 2018 Hoffmann SE and its subsidiaries achieved record sales, topping €1 billion euros for the first time, and employee numbers have risen to record levels of over 3,000 people. The business continues to grow organically.

“The fact that our business is doing so well today is thanks primarily to our highly committed staff,” asserts Nicola Bleicher, great-granddaughter of the company founder and a shareholder in Hoffmann SE. Her sister and co-shareholder Verena Heinrich adds: “Our employees are the fountain of youth for our 100 year old company. Their vision, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit enable it to adapt flexibly to changing times.”

The foundations of Hoffmann SE were laid by Josef Hoffmann on March 11th 1919 in Munich. His son Franz joined the business in 1932 and the first Hoffmann catalogue was printed in 1936. Today it is available in 18 languages and also online.

In the 1950s, Franz Hoffmann focused the business towards the sale of high quality tooling backed by exemplary customer service and support. Mr Hoffmann was also responsible for launching the company’s own product lines under the Garant brand name back in 1973.

As the longstanding head of the company, he moulded and embodied its culture, instigating values that continue to underpin the business today

The company’s third generation then merged the company with the Gödde, Oltrogge and Perschmann family businesses to form the Hoffmann Group. Now headed up by the fourth generation of the business, the Hoffmann Group with its partners has 69 subsidiaries in more than 50 countries around the world.

A key legacy instilled by Franz Hoffmann is the commitment to becoming ‘ever better’. In fact it remains the driving force behind the organisation today: “We are investing massively in the future in order to drive innovation”, says Nicola Bleicher.

“At present our focus is on the development of digital products and services – but we are also undertaking the largest project in the company’s history – LogisticCity,” added Verena Heinrich.

“LogisticCity is currently under construction on a 21.5 hectare site in Nuremberg and will become the company’s global distribution centre, employing around 900 people. We can confidently say the future looks bright for the next 100 years,” she concluded.